Table of Contents
On this page: On other pages:- An Overview of the Long Weekend
- Friday: Alander Mountain
- Saturday: Mount Greylock
- Sunday afternoon: Crum Hill
- Monday: Mount Frissell and Brace Mountain
- Resources for Highpointing in the Berkshires
Routes to Berlin Mountain
Berlin Mountain (elevation 2,818 feet) is on the Taconic Crest Trail, which straddles the Mass-NY border along the northern part of Massachusetts. The North Berkshire Outdoor Guide comments on that trail:Hikers, mountain bikers, skiers, snowmobilers and off-road vehicle users share what has become a wide, braided trail system.
Most county highpointers seem to approach it from Petersburg Pass, where the Taconic Crest Trail crosses Rt 2. Since the elevation of the pass is 2,230 feet this is the route with the least elevation gain. The trail skirts the side of Mount Raimer, then descends to Berlin Pass before climbing up to Berlin Mountain. Distance one way is 2.7 miles.
There are two approaches that start much lower down on the Massachusetts side of the crest on the Berlin Mountain Road. The shortest takes that road to its end at the abandoned Old Williams College Ski Area (elevation 1,600 feet) and follows the wide Berlin Pass Trail to Berlin Pass, then the Taconic Crest Trail to the summit of Berlin Mountain. The distance one way is 2.8 miles.
A longer approach uses the Berlin Mountain Trail (or Class of '33 Trail) which starts about a mile lower on the same road. The area has been recently logged, and the North Berkshire Outdoor Guide warns that:
With such a warning I suggest that the trail be left to the locals who know where they are going! The one way distance along that trail is 2.0 miles, and it is often combined with the Berlin Pass Trail to make a loop.Logging in the years 1995-1997 widened old woods roads in a confusing network. Large blue blazes mark a boundary line, not the trail that follows the ridgeline logging road. If you start to head downhill you are going the wrong way.
Trip Report
On Sunday morning once again we split, one group went out for breakfast while the others had the motel's continental breakfast. Then we drove off to the trailhead. The Berlin Pass Trail is wide and had a stream flowing down it for substantial stretches, but otherwise the footing was good, and the open hardwoods through which it passed were pleasant. We soon reached Berlin Pass, with good views to the east over the northern Berkshires.From there the trail rose very gradually to the summit of Berlin Mountain. This section of the trail was badly damaged by all terrain vehicles, with many deep depressions which, after a rainy week, became ponds. There were bypasses around these ponds, and in places the bypasses were again getting deeply eroded.
The summit itself compensated for the poor esthetic qualities of the trail. There were views both to the east and to the west, we were especially interested in the view of Mount Greylock, which we had climbed the previous day. I looked further east to the mountains east of North Adams, one of them was Crum Hill that I would climb in a couple of hours.
After a mid-morning snack I left the group and returned to my car
to drive over to the other side of the valley.